Coal-loading conveyer



Aug. 19, 1930. c. A. WARDEN l coAL LOADING GONVEYER 2 Sheets-.Sheei lINVENTOR cHARLEssA. WARDEN ATTORNEY Filed Jan. 17, 1928 fri/@3,416

Aug. 1 9, 1930.- c. A.wARDEN COAL LOADING 'CONVEYER Filed Jan. 17, 19282 sheets-sheet 2 -RIM INVENTOR CHARLES AWARDEN BYQM ATTORN EY PatentedAug. 119, 1930 l UNIT' atar orrica" CHARLES A. WARDEN, orvIIiiMriI-IIIIQ, wnsr VIRGINIA, `AssIcriioR` To Iiiives'roit- POCAHONTASCOAL COMPANY, OFNEW YORK,'N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F WEST VIR- GINIACOAL-LOADING coNvEYfER 'l fappii'e'afionjfuea :rmuaryk 17e, i928.'serial No. '247,a22.

This invention vrelates, to 'conveyers and more particularly to'anapparatus for transpfeiring loose coal in amine to the cars in which itis transported* from the mine. This application -pertains toimprovements in the invention of my prior application 'Serial No.111,594'. y e i In present-,day methods of mining coal, a so-calledShort wall or Longwy/all?minino machine is used to undercut the Vbody ofcoa The coal is then shot down and' restsin aV vloose mass offragmentsagainst the Vface of the seam. This loose coal is usuallyhandled" by meansof a plurality of conveyers, 'one con` veyer freedingtoanother and the last conveyer 'of the series dumping into the cars onthe "inine* track. The use ofk ai pluralityv of con-A veyers besides theinitialcost and eXpense'of repairs andA upkeep involves considerabletime and trouble in the handling thereof particularly in moving theconveyers from place to place as required. l a It is an object of thepresentinvention to provide a simple and satisfactory unitary conveyerof rugged construction which will yfacilitate tlietransfer of coaI fromthe face of the seam to the mine cars and which can be'easily andreadily manipulated in the mine to remove coal from. the desired.portion of .the seams as mined. Another object of this invention is toprovide a sectional'conveye'r, certain sections of which may be reversedin the mine to work either the right or., left side of a seam withoutchanging the Vposition ofv the dumpingend of the conveyer.r Still an-Vother obj ect is to provide a conveyer that may be adjusted to removecoal from seams at varyingA heights in the mineA walls and may dump thecoal at varying altitudes, i. e. the

Vloading end of the conveyer may bfe raised Oi lowered tobe inserted inseamsat; varying positions inthe verticalvwalls ofthe mine and theposition of the dumping end of the conveyer maybe varied tcpdump thecoal at varying heights; Y

Other objects "andadvantages will be apparent from the detaileddescription taken in connection with .the accompanying drawings in whichFig.r 1 is aplan view vpartly broken away to enable the showing ofthestructure position to receive the coal.

end-7 of 'a kconveyer 8 empties into the'miney Vcars 4Hwhich areadvanced intermittently' aS they are/filled. The conveyer-8 hereinafter'described indetail is arranged in operative 'relation to the face V2and is adapted to, be fforcedby aplurality of jacks 9whi'ch'rest of theconveyer vfrom `end to end,andrillustrat ing a preferred embodiment.of'this invenof the y'colni'ieyer on an enlarged scale as lcoinparedwith Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isafragmen'tary side elevational detail illustratingthe mount# ingfor the inclined and hoomfconveyerisections and showingthevmechanism'for p0si` 'tioning the booinsectiong'Fig-4 is a sectionalview on' the line 8'-8o'f`iFig. Tillustrating a -method' of moving theconveyer under` the loose coal. `f s e 1 Y Referring toFigs. 7 and 8y ofthe drawings,

1 indicates alcoal seam from the ikface 2`of whch a mass 3 "of loose"coalhas been shot down. A plurality of cars 4 aremovediipoi` the minetracks 5in the gallery 6 intov proper The' dumping agaiiist'thej timbers10unde'r theinass 3 of lbroken coal. If desired, an automatic feedrfo'rVthe conveyer 'may he employed, as for eX- ample ,the feed` illustratedlin my'copending applicatioinfSerial No. 247,321 filed January 17,' 1928.The conveyer 8 lis ldesigned to take `up the lloose/coal and todeliverit directly.

to the mine cars A4.

rality of sections connected by section splicers ,11. The loading end ofthe conveyer comprises a section 12 which includesa top plate 14 (Fig.Y4)v provided'with a sloping face 15 and a flattened portion 16 restingYon or secured to abottom plate V13l having integral therewith orfastened thereto "a side plate l17. A 'chain guide 18 is secured as byriveting or rwelding to the side plate .17 and is ar- Thek conveyer '8preferably rcomprises a plu- Y ytiongllig. 2:is ya fragmentaryr sideelevation Y 'view illustrating the manner. ink which the fconveyerisused and F 1g.,8 is a diagrammatic ranged to fit in groove 19 in flights2O of a top, bottom and side plates 14, 13 and 17. The

plates of this section are in Alongitudinal alignment with thecorresponding plates of section 12 of the conveyer.

Section is formed of side plate 3a, top plate 33 and -bottom plate 34arranged and secured as hereinbefore described, inconnection with sideplate 17, top plate 14 and bottom plate 13. Sloping face l35 of topplate 33 extends throughout only a portion of the length of the top.plate as indicated at 36 Vand the top plate gradually widens as rshownat v31 until itis of substantially the same width as the bottom plate34. A plate 37 connects the inclined portion 36 of top plate 33 with thebottom plate 34 preventing coal or other material from entering at thispoint in the space between the top and bottom plates 33 and k34. Thetop, bottom and side plates 33, 34 and 32 are in longitudinal alignmentwith the corresponding plates of conveyer section 25 and also graduallyincline upwardly as indicated at 38. Preferably a side plate 39 .isprovided at the side of thevconveyer opposite from the side plate 32 andextends from the inclined plate 37 to the end of the .conveyer section30.

- Conveyer section 40 comprises top andbottom plates 41, 42, secured inspaced relation Von the side plates 43, 44, inclined upwardly andextending in longitudinal alignment with the top and bottom plates 33,34 of conveyer section 30. The side plates 43, 44 also extend inlongitudinal alignment ,with the corresponding plates of section 30 ofthe conveyer. The end 47 (Fig. 3) of this conveyer section is preferablyprovided with an extending arm-45 which is pivotally mounted on a crossrod or shaft 46 supported in the structural frame work for section 40 ofthe conveyer as indicated generally by thereference numeral 48.

The boom conveyer section 50 comprises top'and bottom .plates 51, 52 inlongitudinal 'alignment with the top and bottom plates 41 and 42Y andside plates 53, 54 in alignment with the corresponding side plates ofthe conveyer section 40. Side plates 53, 54 have depending-therefromarms 5 5 which are pivotally mounted on cross rod 46.- A member 56extends from the base of the boom conveyer section as from the sideplate 53 and has a cam or inclined surface 57 which is arranged to beengaged by a rack 58 slidably mounted in the frame support 48. The rackis preferably actuated manually through a crank or hand lever 59 keyedor otherwise secured to a shaft 60 rotatably mounted in bearings (notshown) on the frame support 48. A pinion 61 is keyed or otherwisesecured to shaft 60 and is arranged to mesh with rack 58. It is evident`that by turningthe hand lever 59 either clockwise or counter-clockwise,pinion 61 will be rotated to move the rack either forward or backwardand correspondingly elevate or lower the boom conveyer section 50, asindicated by thefull and dotted lines Fig. 2. The boom conveyer sectionis held in desired position by the mine car wall on which it rests or bysome suitable support placed thereunder. If desired a threaded rod may,be fastened to the base of this conveyer section and this rod maycooperate with a nut member to elevate or lower the boom conveyersection and; hold it in the desired position. Such a structure isillustrated in my copending application Serial No. 247,321 hereinbeforementioned.

y Mounted adjacent the conveyer section 12 and preferably bolted orotherwise secured Athereto is a chain take-up and sprocket supportingdevice 65. This device includes a cast or sheet metal housing 66 inwhich is mounted a shaft 68. A sprocket 70 is mounted on shaft 68. Screwthreaded rods 69 are arranged to engage the shaft 68 and by turningthethreaded rods the shaft and sprocket `thereon is moved to take up theslack in the chain 21.

At the end of the boom conveyer section 50, a shaft 71 is mounted inbearings 72 and has sprockets 73, 74 secured thereon. A shaft v75hasthreaded ropenings 76 in the ends thereof in which are mounted right andleft screw threaded rods 77 passing through'the supportingl plates 78and nuts 7 9 adjacent plates 78. The plates 78 are bolted or otherwisesecured to the side plates of conveyer section 30. The shaft 75 hasmounted thereon a sprocket 79.

' The chain 21 is disposed .over sprockets 70 on shaft 68 and sprocket73 on shaft 71. Flights 2O are secured at intervals to the chain 21 andare movable therewith along the top plates 14, 26, 33, 41, 51 oftheconveyer toward the sprocket 73. After passing over the sprocket 73 theflights return with the chain beneath the top plates over the bottomplates 52,v 42, 34, 27 and 13 to the opposite end of the conveyer. Theflights are thus radapted to move the coal which falls upon the topplates 14, 26 and 33 towards the inclined portion of the conveyer.

Asecond chain 80 having a plurality of iiights 2 0 secured at intervalstheretopasses over the sprocket 74 on shaft 71 and sprocket 79 on shaft75. The flights 20 on chain 8O vthe mine cars as illustrated in Ifig. 7.

graly with the U-sliaped section 82. lThis structure permitsthe evendistribution of the load to the chain.

ChainsfSO and 21 are driven from the m05 tor S through a speed reducer86 having shaft-87 provided with a sprocket 88 over y which travels adrive chain 89. Chain 89 .also travels over a sprocket on shaft 92journaled inthe frame 48. At the other end of shaft 92 (Fig: l1) is asprocket 93 which hasV a rdrive chain 94C travelling thereover. Chain94; also passes vover sprocket 95 on the end of shaft 71y therebyrotating this' shaftand sprockets 73, 74thereon, thus driving chainsSOand 2.1.

` In A,the modified forni of my invention V shown in Fig. 6 the conveyersections 30 and 25 are` shown pivotally connected by means of pivot pin90'.' This construction permits movement ofthe loading end 91 oftheconveyer about pivot pin `90', and'alsoperinits `movement of theconveyer about shaft't as a pivot so that the loading end of the con-Veyer can be positioned at varying heights to remove coal from seams atvarying heights inthe vertical walls ofthe mine.

Section 30 of the conveyer `is preferably made in right and left handunits so that by the insertion of the proper unit, by reversing sectionsA12 and 25 andchanging the position of chains 80 and 21 the conveyer maybe used to work either the right or left hand Yside of a seam. l/Vhen itisfdesired to worlr on the opposite side of the seam to that worked7 thechaintalre-up device 65 is detached from the conveyer section 12', thissection and the adj acent section 25 reversed in the seam, section 30replaced by an appropriate corresponding unit and the chains 8O and 21positioned on the drive sprockets. It will be noted that toreverse theconveyer it is unnecessary to move sections 40 and 50 of the conveyer. lWhile I have described the conveyer as preferably constructed of Vaplurality of sec tions, it is understood that this invention is notlimited thereto and includes conveyers constructed of one or more unitsor conveyers having the sections combined, as for example n sections 12,25, 30 and 40 formed as a single unit and boom l conveyer .sectionpivotally connected thereto;A

The structure of the conveyer as herein described is simple andit can beconstructed.A

movalof the loose coal rapidly-and directlyV y to the mine'cars so thattheface ofth'e'seam is Vexposed for Vfurther operation within acomparatively short time and additional conveyers are unnecessary forthe efficient removal of the/coal to the mine cars. The parts oftheconv'eyer maybe of rugged construction suitable for the rough usageto which it is subjected-and asthere are few parts these are not likelyto break. v l In the preferred structure of the conveyer as illustratedand described herein, various changes can be made in the details thereofand this invention is lnot to be limited to the structure disclosed butonly by the kscope ofv the appended claims. i `VVliatis claimed isz Y'1. Ina conveyer, the combination of a plate having a longitudinalmaterial receiving portion and ka longitudinal'loading edgesubstantially co-extensive with the length vof said plate andthe'loading portion of the conveyer, said loading edge beingarranged tobe moved under' the materialto be trvansported to force the materialonto said material receiving portion of the plate, anin clined plateinflongitu'dinal alignment with the material receiving portion ofthejfirstv mentioned plate and arranged tovreceive said 'l material fromythe iirstlmentioned plate, a

material receiving plate in longitudinal alignnient with said inclined'plateandfarranged to `receive the material kfrom the inclined plate,flights superposed' on said plates, means connected to the flights andto a source of power tog'advan'ce thelflights longitudinally of theplates to movethe material therealong and means foradjustingthe positionofthe inclined plateVv with respect to the rst and thirdmentionedplates.. l ,Y

2. In a conveyer, the combination of a plate having'a longitudinalmaterial receiv- -Y izo said plates disposed on one side thereof, a-

second chain disposed along the opposite side of said inclined andmaterial receiving plates,

means for driving the chains in a vertical plane and a plurality of`flights' secured to the chains and niovably thereby along saidL plates.

8. In a conveyer, the combination of a plurality of sections comprisinga reversible `plate section adapted to be moved under the materialv tobe transported, a plate'section arranged to be placed in longitudinalalign- Y ment with said reversible plate section, a 5, plate sectionadapted to receive material, a Y chain having flights thereon extendingalong one side of said sections, a second chain having flightsthereonfacing the flights of said first mentioned chain and extending along 1the other side of said second mentioned plate section and said materialreceiving plate section.

4. In a machine for loading coal in a mine, a conveyer sectioncomprising top and botia tom plates in spaced relation, the top platehaving a sloping face forming with the bottom plate, a wedge shapedlongitudinal edge extending parallel to and substantially the i lengthot' the pile of coal shot down from 3m the seam in the mine, a sideplate positioned Valongsaid bottom plate and forming a side wall forsaid top and bottom plates, an inclined conveyer section comprisinginclined side, top'and bottom plates disposed in long, gitudinalalignment with the side, top and bottom plates of the first mentionedconveyer section, a boom conveyer section pivoted to said inclinedconveyor section and comprising a base and side plates disposed :so inlongitudinal alignment with the top and side plates of'said inclinedconveyer section, a chain having rectangular flights at spaced positionsthereon disposed along one side of Y said conveyer sections, a secondchain havas ing rectangular flights at spaced positions thereon disposedin cooperative relation with the flight-s of the first mentioned chain,said second chain being disposed along the other side of the inclinedand boom conveyer sec- 4() tions, means for moving the first mentionedchain along said top plates and the base plate ofthe boom conveyersection below said base plate and through the space between said top andbottom plates, means for moving the second chain along the top plate ofthe inclined conveyer section over the base plate beneaththe base plateand through the space between the top and bottomplates of the inclinedconveyer section, and means moving said boom conveyer section about itspivot. In witness whereof, l have hereunto set my hand. Y

CHARLES A. WARDEN.

